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"He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’" (Revelation 21:5).

This is an article that covers ideas and stories that popped between Halloween and New Year’s that are amazing or sad. This is the season of holidays with Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as the Jewish Hanukkah and the African-American holiday.

But first, since I like Christmas music, here are some good CD’s that I have that you might enjoy. If you haven’t heard Mannheim Steamroller yet, they came out with their 25^th Anniversary Collection which covers various renditions over twenty years of performing and gives one a good idea of their music.

Aceppella music is prominent in a couple of groups as well. In 1998, a group of ten Indiana University students got together and performed, one song being The 12 Days of Christmas. In 2005 it was put on You-Tube with the idea that it might get a couple of thousand hits. Two million hits later the leader was contacted by a record company, got the group back together and began performing. They have produced several albums including two Christmas ones. The group is called Straight No Chaser and the albums are Christmas Cheer and Holiday Spirits.

I was listening to Hugh Hewitt last Christmas season, a radio talk show host out of California. One of his bumper tunes was an interesting rendition of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. It was done by a group called the Haven Quartet and is a very delightful album worth having. Haven has been active for many decades. An album released in 1997 has string instruments and very good singing and is another enjoyable album. It is called Come Let Us Adore Him. If you have never heard a quartet sing the Hallelujah Chorus aceppella, then pick up this album.

As you know , I like folk music, especially as I get older. The current Kingston Trio did a Christmas album last year called Glad Tidings. It is a very enjoyable album sung in the folk style tradition and is equal to the original Kingston Trio Christmas album.

Many books have been produced in recent years that are devotional or fictional in the spirit of the season. Right now these are not something I’m particularly interested in. Finding theological books is more difficult but I have been blessed in the last two years with some I have read, which have been referenced in bulletin articles. I also like books that give the background to Christmas songs. This year Ace Collins as added his third book to discussing backgrounds to various songs. Called Stories Behind The Greatest Hits of Christmas (Zondervan, 2010), it is about the popular, mostly secular songs, especially coming out during and after World War II.

Judy Garland was involved as an entertainer in various shows encouraging troops who were headed overseas. She starred in the movie, Meet Me In St. Louis, but refused to sing a new Christmas song until the lyrics were changed. While the song’s writers wrote it to fit the context of the script, Garland refused to sing one line because of the cultural context of the day. It said,

While it captured the context of the movie, Garland knew what the war was doing. The writers changed the words to "Let your heart be light, from now on our troubles will be out of sight." The song was a hit and offered hope in a desperate situation.

Many of us like Do You Hear What I Hear, with both its melody and words, a song about the birth of Jesus. The author was a Frenchman. When the Nazis invaded France in 1940, Noel Regney was forced into the German Army. One night he took off his uniform and walked out of camp, joined the French Resistance and fought against the Germans. After the war he wandered around eventually making his way to New York City. There he met Gloria Shane and were married. At times, Noel had difficulty sleeping, having nightmares of his war experiences. One night he got up and began writing, first about love, then about peace. Out of that came this wonderful song. Such are the stories in Collins’ books.

In October, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case from New Jersey concerning the singing and/or playing of Christmas music in a school district at public concerts. The district’s policy stated in part that its goal is to "foster mutual understanding and respect for the right of all individuals regarding their beliefs." Schools in the district can play it in school but not in public in celebration of religious concepts, events or holidays. Makes one wonder if they would ban the celebration of other religious holidays such as those found in Islam.

Halloween seems to draw discussion from a Christian perspective. There are two views that arise. On the one side is that are those who see it as connected with paganism. Many pagans had a view of death and the afterworld that involved scary ideas and things. The winter months, especially in the northern hemisphere, always meant death. As such, bad spirits were released to roam the earth, so there had to be some way to stop them. They were warded off by candles and masks. While Christians recognize that death has been defeated in Jesus, the participation in Halloween activities is seen siding with evil. Other draw in Christian influences in which people often celebrated the Christian dead and what is known as All Souls Day. They see the day as a celebration of life in Christ. With the increasing secularization of society, and the rise in some pagan ideas, the debate will continue. Let’s be wise in our choices.

The Christmas wars started early this year, according to the Washington Post. An atheist organization has purchased ads on buses and other media. What is shown is a verse or two from the Bible where a people are destroyed or some such idea (no context) and then a quote from a famous atheist who speaks with a positive idea. The purpose is to show that Christianity is evil and destructive. I suppose that it would be seen as revengeful to put up an ad that quotes Jesus and Moses about loving one’s neighbor and opposite that the fact that the atheists Stalin and Mao murdered 100 million plus of their own citizens in peacetime in the 20^th Century.

The city of Brotherly Love had a little problem with a sign. Each year a group of people set up next to City Hall a little place with various stands called "German Christmas Village." Seems like some city employees and others complained about this so a cherry picker was sent to cut down the word "Christmas" on November 30^th. After two days of national news coverage, the mayor "reflected" on that decision and decided to put back up the word "Christmas." One person on radio stated that if the city employees who complained about Christmas doesn’t like the idea, then they should work on Christmas rather than having the day off. Of course, if it said "Muslim" village, would they dare take it down?

A bank in Southlake, Texas removed a Christmas tree after someone complained. Chase Bank stated that they recognized the diversity of the season. A few days later they too changed their minds. A elementary school in Katy, Texas had on their December calendar the birthday of the person whom the school was named after for the 25^th. It did not have "Christmas" on it at all. Oh to be politically correct! Christians turn the other cheek and will not blow up banks or schools. We might write letters or call talk shows. We will sing the songs of the season to God’s glory.

Federal Reserve Officials walked into a Perkins, Oklahoma bank in the middle of December and told them that they must remove all religious symbols from the bank such as crosses and buttons that said "Merry Christmas, God with us" as well as the Bible verse of the day from its website. U.S. senators and representatives complained and asked the Federal Reserve to take another look at this policy. A few days later it was reversed. This is the nanny state at work with our tax dollars and people who have far too much time on their hands.

Nina Tottenberg of National Public Radio was speaking to a group of people about a recent party she attended at the Department of Justice. She apologized to the audience for saying she attended a "Christmas" party. And our tax dollars pay for this silliness.

I enjoy singing the traditional carols of the season. Most of the time, those who sing them on the radio or various albums, sing only a few verses. A number of songs have sever or eight verses and some with different lyrics from various sources. O Come All Ye Faithful and The First Noel are two examples. The later tells the story of the wise men but because we only sing a few verses - most song books do not have all of them - it is considered a confusing song. Reading all the verses gives us a different perspective.

I have enjoyed listening to Christmas music on the radio, especially on our local Christian station, KSBJ. I haven’t heard every minute but have scanned their website to see the name of a song I particularly liked. One such song was done by Trans-Siberian Orchestra called Christmas Canon which came from an early album. It was one of my favorites this year.

This year I was listening for five songs that were my favorites from the past two years. Two were done by Michael W. Smith and two by Point of Grace. All appeared with about two weeks after Thanksgiving. One that was nobly absent was We Three Kings. A version done by Aly and AJ has a nice beat but it wasn’t played as far as I could tell. In fact no version of this song was played. That makes me wonder why. I know we do not no how many wise men there were and we know that they were not kings but the song has some good news thoughts. Verse one introduces us to their journey. Verses two through four explains the meaning of each gift including Jesus’ dying. The fifth verse speaks of the resurrection. Most singers, both secular and sacred, do not sing the last verse, though that sums up the importance of the birth and death of Jesus.

A new year is coming. May God bless us in His service.

George B. Mearns